1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a font management system for use in a character image generator such as, for example, a printer having plural kinds of fonts.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Character image generators such as printers having plural kinds of fonts are in wide practical use today. Font memories being frequently used are accommodated in advance as standard font memories in such apparatus whereas other font memories being used at a comparatively low frequency are prepared as ROM cartridges, IC cards or the like. The latter font memories are mounted in the apparatus as occasion demands.
The character image generators, however, cannot receive a number of fonts at the same time for the use thereof. Also, replacement of the ROM cartridges or the like takes time. Because of this, with the spread of large-capacity ROMs, character image generators accommodating a large-capacity ROM as a standard memory are proposed in which a number of fonts are stored in advance.
In applications where plural kinds of fonts are accessible during the use of a printer or the like, attribute information of all the accessible fonts is compared with that of a font specified by a font selection signal for the selection of an appropriate font. The same is true for a printer having a large-capacity ROM in which a number of fonts are stored as standard fonts. The aforementioned comparison processing is executed with respect to all the attribute information of a number of fonts stored in the ROM.
In the present situation, however, a CPU for executing the comparison processing cannot comply therewith in processing speed. In other words, the processing speed reduces and the comparison processing takes a great deal of time.